Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive

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Published: July 9, 2012
Updated: July 16, 2014
Applies To: Windows Server 2012 Essentials, Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
You can create a bootable USB flash drive to use to deploy Windows Server 2012 E
ssentials . The first step is to prepare the USB flash drive by using DiskPart,
which is a command-line utility. For information about DiskPart, see DiskPart Co
mmand-Line Options.
For additional scenarios in which you may want to create or use a bootable USB f
lash drive, see the following topics:
Restore a full system from an existing client computer backup
Restore or repair your server running Windows Server Essentials
To create a bootable USB flash drive
Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.
Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator.
Type diskpart.
In the new command line window that opens, to determine the USB flash drive
number or drive letter, at the command prompt, type list disk, and then click EN
TER. The list disk command displays all the disks on the computer. Note the driv
e number or drive letter of the USB flash drive.
At the command prompt, type select disk <X>, where X is the drive number or
drive letter of the USB flash drive, and then click ENTER.
Type clean, and the click ENTER. This command deletes all data from the USB
flash drive.
To create a new primary partition on the USB flash drive, type create part p
ri, and then click ENTER.
To select the partition that you just created, type select part 1, and then
click ENTER.
To format the partition, type format fs=ntfs quick, and then click ENTER.
ImportantImportant
If your server platform supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI
), you should format the USB flash drive as FAT32 rather than as NTFS. To format
the partition as FAT32, type format fs=fat32 quick, and then click ENTER.
Type active, and then click ENTER.
Type exit, and then click ENTER.
When you finish preparing your custom image, save it to the root of the USB
flash drive.